Lack of depth hurts Crusaders

Friday

Oct 25, 2013 at 11:30 PMOct 26, 2013 at 12:41 AM

The Ocala Christian Academy football team ran into a familiar foe Friday night, and it wasn't the other team.

By Ted BeckStaff writer

The Ocala Christian Academy football team ran into a familiar foe Friday night, and it wasn't the other team.A lack of depth turned a one-point game at halftime against visiting Mount Dora Bible into a 41-21 rout by the time the final horn sounded.The Crusaders have lost their share of games in recent years because of a roster that hovers around 20 players. With many players taking snaps on both sides of the ball, OCA could not keep up against a fresh Bulldogs squad that traveled with 30 kids."They had practically a different team on defense," OCA head coach Jason Zimmerman said. "I was proud of the guys for fighting until the end though. … They just blitzed like crazy, and we just couldn't get around it. If we have probably four or five more players, we are probably in that game late."The loss snapped OCA's three-game winning streak. The Crusaders are now 3-5.OCA's offense was compromised early when senior playmaker David Cizmadia hurt his right knee. He did not return."When David went out, really that took two different formations out of our game because in a couple formations, he's our main runner," Zimmerman said. "So basically, we went from four different looks to two, just like that. Part of that is with the low numbers, and we never think through that. We just hope that we stay healthy."Mount Dora Bible (6-2) came in with a high-powered offense, but only managed one score in the first half before distancing itself from the home team in the third quarter. Leading 7-6, OCA received the second-half kickoff and fumbled on its first play of the third quarter, giving the Bulldogs the ball at the OCA 38. On the ensuing play, Jasper Pierre scored on a run to give MDB a 13-7 lead.After an OCA punt, Pierre scored again from eight yards out. Lamar Smith took over from there, scoring on an 85-yard punt return, a 61-yard run and a 14-yard run to give his team a 41-7 lead with 9:15 left in the game.OCA didn't quit though, scoring two touchdowns from that point. With junior quarterback Trevor Smith being hit around all night — he was sacked 10 times — Zimmerman put in Nick Weitlauf at quarterback. The change of pace worked as Weitlauf led the Crusaders on an 83-yard drive that ended with a three-yard score by the QB.Smith went back under center with 2:06 left after senior Riley Artman recovered a fumble to give his team the ball at their own 30. Smith completed two long passes to P.J. Culver on the drive, including a 28-yarder for the final points of the night.The Crusaders took the lead with 1:25 left in the first half on a Smith nine-yard run.The defense was led by junior Jacob Miller-Smith. The linebacker had eight tackles, two for loss, an interception and a fumble recovery. Artman, who was named Homecoming king at halftime, had seven stops and a sack to go along with his fumble recovery."(The Mount Dora offense) is a good offense that has scored points against everybody, and we had them guessing," Zimmerman said. "… That first (score of the second half) they squeaked right in between our two guys (up front). That's the difference about being fresh. If we're fresh, I think we close that down and continue to play."We just wore down. The guys were trying. They just didn't have it left in the tank."Weitlauf finished with seven catches for 100 yards, six runs for 34 yards and 19 yards passing. Smith had 217 yards passing and 21 receiving.OCA hosts Temple Christian next week before playing a Sunshine State Athletic Conference playoff game the following week.